Katzenberg memo dick tracy

Posted on by Holden

It seems that, like lemmings, we are all racing faster and faster into the sea, each of us trying to outrun and outspend and out-earn the other in a mad sprint toward the mirage of making the next blockbuster. But as I said earlier, things could be worse. The pay cuts that I am asking are voluntary, and there will be no consequences to any employees beyond losing their jobs. This is why we should be aggressive on all fronts — at the dining table with major stars, at the comedy clubs and at missions, searching for starving future stars, and at the back door of the Betty Ford Clinic with a pen and contract in hand. Not stars, not special effects, not casts of thousands, not mega-budgets, not hype. Others will scramble for higher and higher ground, spending feverishly to keep their noses above water. But, more important, our underlying philosophy of moviemaking lends itself especially well to lean times.

The Japanese are getting into a business that is to some extent outside of their cultural context.

Katzenberg Manifesto revisited

The Japanese are getting into a business that is to some extent outside of their cultural context. And, more and more, we began making them. We had small budgets and not much respect. Unfortunately, our industry has travelled this road before. Our streets are filled with the homeless, the uneducated; our troops face the constant threat of chemical weapons, Scud missiles and repeated shell fire; and attendance at our parks is down, way down. I think the public could care less who is in a picture as long as the picture offers them the mindless fun they bargained for.